Web-loading device for cloth-laying machines



y 9, 1969 E. M. MERRILL 3,458,185

WEB-LOADING DEVICE FOR CLOTH-LAYING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1966 July 29, 1969 E. M. MERRILL 3,458,185

WEB-LOADING DEVICE FOR CLOTH'LAYING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 15, 1966 United States Patent M 3,458,185 WEB-LOADING DEVICE FOR CLOTH- LAYING MACHINES Edward M. Merrill, North Bellmore, N.Y., assignor to Cutting Room Appliances Corp., New York, N.Y. Filed Dec. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 602,094 Int. Cl. B6511 29/46 US. Cl. 270-31 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cloth-laying machine carriage including means for picking up a cloth roll and spindle resting upon a clothlaying table supporting the carriage, and moving it upwardly from said table to engage bearing means on the carriage normally supporting the spindle to permit rotation of the cloth roll to dispense a web of cloth therefrom.

This invention relates generally to the field of clothlaying machines of the type in which a wheeled carriage element is reciprocated over the horizontal surface of the cloth laying table to dispense a continuous web of cloth or other flexible planar material in superimposed laminae, for subsequent cutting to predetermined patterns, and more particularly to an improved means for loading rolls of cloth upon said carriage element following the exhaustion of a previous roll.

With relatively small, lightweight machines, the reloading with a fresh roll of cloth is a relatively simple matter. The cloth-laying carriage is provided with bearing means engaging the opposite ends of the spindle which penetrates the roll of cloth, and it is necessary only to remove the old spindle and surrounding core from the bearing means, .and to insert the spindle in the fresh roll, following which the roll is manually lifted to the position whereby it may be reengaged by the bearing supports on the carriage element.

However, with larger tables, and heavier rolls, this operation often requires the presence of two men, one for each end of the spindle, and the exertion of considerable manual effort to lift the same from the surface of the cloth laying table into proper position. This problem is complicated by the fact that very often a roll becomes exhausted inbetween the limts of the path of travel of the carriage element, and it is necessary to bring a fresh roll to the then position of the carriage element, which is at a point intermediate the ends of the table for loading. Except for the occurrence of such occasions, most of the larger cloth laying machines are sufficiently automated as to require the presence of only a single operator for a plurality of tables.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved means for loading fresh rolls of cloth into proper position upon a cloth-laying carriage element by lifting the same from the surface of the cloth-laying table, whereby the operation may be completely handled by a single operator.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved loading device of the class described, which in one position thereof may carry a fresh roll upon the carriage element adjacent the roll from which a web is being dispensed, as the carriage element travels over the surface of the table, so that with the exhaustion of the dispensing roll, the carriage element may be reloaded for further dispensing of cloth, irrespective of the loca tion of the carriage at the time the web from the previous roll terminates.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved loading device of the class described which may be conveniently incorporated into the structure 3,458,185 Patented July 29, 1969 of existing designs known in the prior art with a minimum of modification, and at reasonably low cost.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of improved web-loading structure of the class described which may incorporate power driven means for elevating cloth-laying rolls to loaded position.

These objects, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will more fully appear in the progress of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises the provision of a pair of cloth roll carriers adapted to engage the opposite ends of a cloth roll spindle while the cloth roll associated therewith is lying upon the surface of a cloth-laying table, and under the influence of a prime mover to raise the cloth roll from the surface of the table to support the same in an intermediate position whereby the cloth roll may be reciprocated until the cloth roll is required, and which carriers may then be activated to raise the roll to a position whereby it may replace an exhausted roll. The carriers may then be returned to a position adjacent the surface of the table for subsequent reloading. The carriers are mounted upon frames connected directly to the cloth-laying carriage, which is capable of supporting the weight of two cloth rolls simultaneously.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a cloth-laying carriage embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary View in elevation corresponding to the upper left hand portion of FIGURE 1, and showing certain of the component parts in altered relative position.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view as seen from the plane 3-3 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a similar fragmentary view in elevation showing another relative position of the component parts.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view in elevation corresponding to the lower left hand portion of FIGURE 2, and showing certain of the component parts in altered relative position.

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated by reference character 10, is illustrated in FIG- URE l of the drawing in conjunction with a cloth-laying carriage 11 of well known type. Such carriages normally include a pair of vertical stanchions or frames, one of which is indicated by reference character 12 which stanchions define a support area 13 engaging a cloth roll supporting spindle for rotation. To maintain the spindle in position, there is provided a pivotally mounted lower jaw 14 including a semicircular bearing member 15, and a base member 16 penetrated by a pintle 17 for pivotal motion between opened and closed positions. A horizontally extending bracket 18 supports an upper jaw 19 including a corresponding bearing member 20, base member 21 and pintle 22. The bracket 18 interconnects with a vertical link 26 by a pintle 26a at the upper end of the former. A horizontal link 27 interconnects through a pintle 28 at the lower end of the vertical link 26. The horizontal link 27 is mounted for rotation as a first class lever by a pintle 29, and is interconnected at a leftward end 30 by a pintle 31 to the armature shaft 32 of a solenoid 33.

Interconnected to the stanchions 12 are a pair of supporting frames, one of which is indicated by reference character 36, each having a corresponding generally irregularly shaped periphery 37. The outwardly disposed portions thereof include a track or rail 38 bounded by an upper surface 39, a lower surface 40, as well as end surfaces 41 (see FIGURE 3). The curvature of the track 38 follows the periphery of the corresponding frame 36, and includes an inclined generally rectilinear portion 42, a curved portion 43 and a downwardly inclined portion 44 to provide a continuous guiding means between an upper terminal 45 and a lower terminal 46.

Mounted upon the track 38 is a wheeled cloth roll spindle carrier 47 including an outer wall member 48, and an inner wall member 49 interconnected by spacers S to a central wall member 51. Upper rollers 52 are mounted on a shaft 53 extending through the central wall member, while lower rollers 54 are mounted on separate shafts 55, to permit clearance for the supporting frame 36.

The central wall member 51 mounts an angularlyshaped member 56, the free end 57 of which is provided with a U-shaped notch 58 for engagement with the projecting ends of a cloth roll spindle. An upper sprocket 59, which serves as an idler, cooperates with a lower sprocket 60 driven by a shaft 61, whereby motion is transmitted to a sprocket chain 62 to result in reciprocation of the carrier 47.

During operation, a cloth roll 64 may be placed upon the surface 65 of a cloth-laying table (see FIGURE adjacent one end thereof, this operation permitting the cloth roll to be picked up at the center by a single operator. Next, the cloth-laying carriage 11 is moved under power to a position adjacent the roll, and the carriers 47 on each side thereof are lowered to the lower terminal 46 of the respective track 38. In this position, depending upon the diameter of the cloth roll, the U-shaped notches 58 will clear the cloth roll spindles and associated bearings 66, following which the carriers are raised to the position shown in FIGURE 1. whereby the roll will fall under the action of gravity until the spindle contacts the upper surface 68 of a pair of ramps, one of which is indicated by reference character 69 communicating with the upper jaw 19 and lower jaw 14 which are in opened condition, and angularly urged to pivot toward the roll, as seen in FIGURES 1 and 2. This pivoting motion is obtained by resiliently biasing the jaws by coil springs (not shown), and when the roll has become seated, as shown in FIGURE 4, the solenoid 33 on each side is actuated to result in firmly gripping the bearing associated with the spindle.

The carriers 47 are then again returned to the position shown in FIGURE 5 in the drawing, to engage a second cloth roll which will be carried as a spare during operation. Following engagement, the carriers are then elevated along the rectiliner portion 42 to the position shown in FIGURE 2, whereby the roll is no longer in contact with the surface of the table.

The carriage may then be operated to dispense a web of cloth in well-known manner until the entire length of the web disposed upon the first roll is consumed. At this point, the carriage is stopped, the spindle disposed between the jaws 14 and 19 removed, and the carriers 47 brought to the position shown in FIGURE 1 for the repositioning of the fresh roll to be threaded through the carriage rollers (not shown) for subsequent dispensing commencing at a point on the table where the previous roll became exhausted.

On the return of the carriage to the end of the table used for loading, the device may be again operated to pick up a third roll, to be held as a spare, and subsequently reloaded between the jaws for dispensing when required. When the device is operated in this manner, it is only necessary for a single operator to place the relatively heavy cloth rolls upon one end of the table, and not to carry them to the point where the previous roll becomes exhausted. Thus, no time is lost in unnecessary carriage travel, and at no time is it necessary for the operator to raise the roll to the level of engagement with the carriage, either at the end of the table, or at a median point, an operation which would normally require two operators, each one grasping one end of the cloth roll.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

1. An improved web loading means for use with a cloth laying carriage having means to support a cloth roll, which support means includes a ramp means to transfer a cloth roll and a bearing means to support said cloth roll for rotation on a spindle thereon about an axis substantially perpendicular to the path of motion of said carriage over a cloth laying table, said means comprising: a pair of supporting frames inter-connected to and moving with said carriage along said path of motion, said frames being in mutually spaced relationship, a distance sufficient to accommodate a cloth roll therebetween; each of said frames having cloth roll spindle engaging means reciprocally mounted thereon for movement along an arcuate path of travel between a lower position in which they may engage a spindle of a cloth roll resting upon said table and an upper position in which the location of said spindle is positioned so as to intersect the path of said ramp means which is mounted on the adjacent cloth roll supporting means in a manner such that the path of said ramp means intersects the arcuate path of travel of the said cloth roll engaging means so as to permit the transfer of the cloth roll and the subsequent positioning thereof in the bearing means of said adjacent cloth roll support means.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited 1,812,742 6/1931 Fallot 242-586 2,921,786 1/1960 Deichmann et al 27031 3,033,561 5/1962 Hanna 270-31 3,039,387 6/1962 Zimmer et al. 1012l6 3,176,928 4/1965 Saunders 24258.6

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner PAUL V. WILLIAMS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2425 8.6 

